*Domestic abuse* How bad does it have to be?

[bearded]

In the case of the abused strongly not wanting to press charges on the abuser, how bad does the assault have to be before police would take the decision to press charges themselves?

Does it have to be a bad assault, or is it pretty much default?

It's upto the police and whether they think they'd have a good case without a witness statement really.

There was very obvious injuries, sadly - bruising and broken ribs.

It must have been more than just a little slap, mustn't it?

They probably wouldn't bother unless someone got killed. Pretty impossible to prosecute without a statement from the victim

Are the police likely to drop charges, then, if the abused is adamant they don't want to press charges??

Bearded, what's going on? Do you want to talk about it?

What's happened? Are you okay?

I would think it depends whether the CPS thinks theres enough evidence for a conviction. I don't think theres a blanket policy on it.

Oh no, so sorry, it's not me, please don't worry, but thank you!

I heard today of the circumstances mentioned and can't get the images out of my head of how bad it could have been for the police to be pressing charges despite them not wanting to. Just wanted some kind of reassurance that maybe it didn't have to have been that bad, if that makes sense. Probably makes no sense, my head is just a bit of a mess right now and I can't sleep

It would depend on what other evidence there was. If there is sufficient evidence for the cps to feel a conviction is the likely outcome then the police can take it further without a statement/clear intent to prosecute from the victim.

How do the police know about it? If the victim called them and told them what happened and doesn't deny the assault, that's all they need. You don't need to press charges. The police have a duty of care to the victim, and the proof of injury from doctors would be enough to convict. I reported my partner for an aggressive verbal assault, with only a light push that caused no damage. I willingly gave a statement, but said I wasn't really planning to press charges, the policeman who took my statement told me that the wheels had been set in motion.
If the victim never reported it, or gave police a statement, then maybe they couldn't do anything. But there's no such thing as 'pressing charges', it's the police who take it further as they see fit.
Please encourage this person, friend? To give a statement. The less arseholes getting away with DV the better.

Gb

It's the prosecutorial service who make the decision on whether or not to prosecute, not the police (or indeed, the victim).

When they are making a decision, they consider whether the evidential threshold has been met. So in cases where a victim of assault has indicated that they wish to withdraw their statement, the prosecutorial service will consider if there is any other, independent evidence, such as other witnesses, CCTV, medical evidence etc.

If the evidential test has been met, they will then consider the public interest test. In a case where the victim is indicating they do not wish to proceed, they consider aspects such as severity of the injuries, previous offending history etc. The state has a positive obligation under article 2 ECHR to protect life, and this can include bringing a prosecution against the complainant's wishes.

I have seen cases where an offender has been successfully prosecuted when the victim had withdrawn her evidence, but it was very difficult to achieve. A particular case which stands out had lots of witnesses, and the circumstances were horrific. The victim's husband had previously tried to murder her, and she had withdrawn her complaint in that previous matter, and because there had only been 2 of them in the house at the time, the prosecution couldn't go ahead. On the most recent occasion the husband knocked her unconscious by punching her in the face repeatedly in a maternity ward, whilst holding a 6 hour old baby, in front of all the other new mothers and staff.

He completely intimidated her, and she withdrew the complaint, but the prosecution went ahead nonetheless. At court she claimed she and her H were happily reconciled, and there had been no further incidents, however police were able to produce evidence that she was living in a refuge, and had been there every night. He was eventually jailed, and couldn't believe it as he thought he had successfully intimidated his wife into perjuring herself.

In cases such as this, it is very difficult to achieve a prosecution though.